Housing repair program benefits low-income families

Monday

Jun 17, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 17, 2013 at 4:54 PM

Molly McGowan / Times-News

The city of Burlington is offering a housing repair program specifically for low- and very low-income households with special needs that require immediate modifications or repairs to ensure the residents’ safety.

Burlington was recently awarded $37,500 in grants under the 2013 Urgent Repair Program.

“This program was sponsored by the city of Burlington with funds provided by the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund,” through the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, said Burlington’s Community Development Administrator Shawna Tillery.

“This is the first time the city has offered this type of program and we are looking forward to helping residents who might otherwise not be able to continue to live in their current situation,” Tillery said..

The city Planning Department’s Community Development Division will administer the Urgent Repair Program grant funding, which will provide funding to repair housing conditions that either threaten the safety of residents or would otherwise prevent a disabled resident from continuing to live in his or her home.

Tillery said those repairs include installing handicap ramps, bathroom modifications or even roof leaks.

To be eligible for the program, the homeowner’s total household income cannot exceed 50 percent of the county’s median income for household size, and must live within Alamance County and both own and occupy the home in question.

The homeowner must have an urgent repair need that can’t be provided for through other federally or state-funded housing assistance programs.

Also, the homeowner must also have a special need, which Tillery said includes an elderly head-of-household, disabled head-of-household, a single-parent household with one or more children in the home, a large family with five or more permanent residents, or a household with a child that has elevated blood lead levels.

The maximum amount of grant funding an individual homeowner can receive is $5,000. Under the Urgent Repair Program, the homeowner will receive an unsecured, deferred interest-free loan, which will be forgiven at a rate of $1,000 per year, until it’s paid to zero, Tillery said.

“So there’s no lien or anything against your property,” she said.

The city’s Community Development Division will begin accepting applications to the Urgent Repair Program beginning July 1, and the application deadline is Sept. 10. Tillery said the clients will be chosen by a ranking system by Oct. 15.

Homeowners may apply by calling Community Development Technician Staci Harris, at 336-222-5093 or emailing stharris@ci.burlington.nc.us.